Extreme Stargazing III

There is stargazing and there is STARGAZING. Alvin Huey raises the art to virtuoso level, looking deeper than most, taking advantage of every trick of the trade. On one extreme you have Stephen O'Meara showing what one can do with a measly 4" refractor. Alvin is on the opposite end of the observing spectrum, using 22" and 30" light buckets: going for the faintest and most obscure objects imaginable. Indeed, he chases after things that 20 years ago we would have said would be impossible for any amateur to detect.

His web site, faintfuzzies.com, is a shrine to extreme stargazing, and an inspiration. He has three observing guides for sale, and I recommend all three to the serious observer. Two of them I initially ordered, The Abell Planetary Observer's Guide and  Observing the Arp Peculiar Galaxies. I passed the third volume by, Hickson Group Observer's Guide, with the lame excuse that I already had Hickson's original reference. The truth is, you need as much help as you can get to see at least some of these very compact groups. Many he is able to see with as "little" as 22", but he occasionally falls back on his 30". (30" is a lot of aperture, is a lot to move around and care for, and requires a pretty high ladder to get to the eyepiece. to put things into perspective, it has almost 3x the light gathering of an 18" scope, or 56x a 4"!)

I think I have viewed less than half a dozen of the 100 in this collection. Most of us are thrilled to see one of the brightest of these, Stephan's Quintet (Hickson 92) – considered to be a challenge itself. Chasing after these is challenging and intrinsically fulfilling: it gives observing a purpose and leaves one with a sense of special accomplishment.

All of Alvin Huey's publications are carefully thought out and executed, serving as models for the serious observer. They represent extreme challenges – not even he meets every single challenge, but he comes close.

My only warning is that if you get any of these, you will find yourself craving more aperture. And, I don't mean just a little bit more!